JOE THORNTON, C, Sharks. This one might not even matter since San Jose seems to have adopted the new strategy of “let’s just take a lot of penalties and see what happens” in the Conference Finals. The Red Wings’ rally in that last round clearly took something out of the Sharks and it’s showing against Vancouver. Even when they outplay the Canucks, they’re still losing. But if Thornton could somehow captain his teammates to an amazing rally and a Cup Title, it would do wonders for his list of career achievements that already includes over 1000 career NHL points.
A Cup Would Mean: People would have to stop insisting that Thornton can’t get it done in big games. He’s already stepped up a few times in these playoffs and if San Jose were to somehow pull this off, you can bet it would take a remarkable contribution from the captain. Morever, it would completely remove the “choker” label from the Sharks franchise as a team that simply can’t make it out of the Western Conference. Unfortunately, four games into the Vancouver series, they look like a team that simply can’t make it out of the Western Conference.

SEDIN TWINS, F, Canucks. Yeah, I know they’re technically not one person but they act the same and seem to want to be treated as one so that’s what they get for the purposes of this list. There’s not really anything left for these guys to accomplish other than winning the Stanley Cup. Henrik stepped up in his brother’s absence last year and all he did was win the Hart Trophy. How did Daniel do in his return this year? Well, he’s probably going to win the Hart Trophy (though, to be fair, Corey Perry deserves more votes that it sounds like he’s getting).
A Cup Would Mean: The Sedin twins would get more mainstream exposure in the States. They certainly get the job done on the ice but, because the play in Vancouver, they’re probably not the household names they should be outside of Canada. Put another way, when you say “Swedish twins”, the Sedins aren’t the first thing most Americans think of. A seven game series on NBC with the championship on the line wouldn’t necessarily change that, but it would go a long way towards making the casual sports fan in the States  realize these guys are two of the best hockey players in the world.

TIM THOMAS, G, Bruins. He’s like the Eminem of goalies – every time you think he’s done, he comes back. In fact, in Thomas’ case, he comes back even better than before. It would be like Shady releasing the Marshall Mathers LP right now. Remember, Thomas was drafted by the Nordiques back when "Friends" and "Seinfeld" were just becoming popular, yet most casual fans didn’t know much about him until a couple years ago. That says something about his character and will to win. For Boston to become the first city ever to claim a title in each of the four major sports over a ten year span, Thomas will have to take over a few games in the next couple weeks – something he’s clearly more than capable of.
A Cup Would Mean: Vindication. He beat the odds to deliver a remarkable 2008-09 season, yet was somehow heading into this year as the backup in Boston – 16 months removed from winning the Vezina. And, considering his 9 shutouts and league-leading 2.00 GAA and .938 save percentage, you have to believe he has the inside track on taking home the hardware again at the Awards Show this summer. Mixing in the Stanley Cup only would only serve to amplify his remarkable career turnaround that much more. 

STEVEN STAMKOS, C, Lightning. The Lightning’s remarkable run through these playoffs might be my single greatest sports prediction in a long time - even better than the time I successfully predicted that the movie "Most Valuable Primate" - starring a hockey playing chimp - would flop at the box office. Heading into the preseason, I just thought this team had all the pieces. The only question was coaching and it seems safe to say Guy Boucher knows what he’s doing. Stamkos tied Sid Crosby for the scoring title a year ago (remember Crosby? The greatest player of our generation that alarmingly hasn’t played hockey since 24/7 was on HBO?) and looked like he’d run away with it this year too until Corey Perry became possessed by some goal scoring demon and blew past everyone. Regardless, the 96 goals scored by Stamkos since the start of the 2009-10 season are tops in the league over that time. Plus, he’s only 21 yet he can actually grow a playoff beard without looking like a cartoon villain. That’s the kind of stuff that doesn’t show up in the scouting report.
A Cup Would Mean: Depending on the role he played in winning it, a Cup could mean people start comparing him favorably to Alex Ovechkin. In the last two years, he has 14 more goals than his Capital counterpart and his team has already made it farther in the playoffs than Ovi ever has. If you can add a championship to that, people will start talking. Not saying that I agree - after all, I think Ovechkin is one of the most dynamic players I’ve ever seen and he doesn’t tend to get much, if any, help from his teammates when it matters most. There’s only one player in the world I’d rather build a team around than him at the moment. But winning means everything to a lot of people and, while Crosby has clearly distanced himself as the #1 player in the world when he’s healthy, Stamkos is quietly making the race for #2 a little more interesting.

(honorable mention): PATRICK MARLEAU, LW, Sharks. Certainly a Cup win would change the public’s perception of Marleau, but I’m pretty sure Jeremy Roenick has already covered this somewhere...

-Luke Lapinski, Radio Host: Phoenix Coyotes Hockey
(twitter: @LukeLapinski)

In case you live under some sort of baseball-shaped rock, NHL free agency opened Friday. And while everyone seems to be signing with Eastern Conference teams like Buffalo, Philadelphia, and Florida (no really, Florida - Ed Jovanovski, Scottie Upshall, and Thomas Fleischmann all decided to take their talents to South Beach), Phoenix was able to step in and quietly grab a couple players to fill some pressing needs. Would you expect anything less from Don Maloney?

Let's begin in goal where the Coyotes acquired former Tampa Bay netminder Mike Smith. True, Smith is not Tim Thomas. Nor is he Tomas Vokoun. In fact, the name "Mike Smith" almost makes it sound like he's a fictional character. But let me assure you, the upside here is real. He's a goalie who has that potentially explosive mix of untapped ability with a little bit of experience in the league. We haven't seen his best yet, but it's not like he's 18 years old and four years away from being able to contribute either. This is a tremendous opportunity for him and he knows it. Last time I checked, players with something to prove tend to perform at a higher level. He's already played - and played well - in the NHL playoffs and, maybe most importantly, he's familiar with Dave Tippett. In fact, his years in Tip's system with the Stars were his best so far as he posted a GAA of 2.23 in 23 games in the 2006-07 season and a 2.46 GAA over 21 games in 07-08. On top of all that, he's big. At 6'3" he has the sort of size that can make him that much more of a lethal weapon in net... once he learns to harness it. That's where Sean Burke comes in. Burke played at right around 6'4". Why is this important? Because he not only had tremendous success as a player, now he's adept at passing on tips to a new generation of goalies. Both Bryz and LaBarbera have noted in the past how Burke's ability to relate to playing the game as a taller goalie helped them immensely in taking their games to the next level. Just having size doesn't mean anything if you don't know how to make the most of it. That's why the whole "sumo-wrestlers-in-goal" trend never really caught on.

The other big move the Coyotes have made so far is the acquisition of bruising forward Raffi Torres. Not only does he fill the glaring need of "not having enough guys named Raffi" on the roster, but he's a beast who's not afraid to throw his weight around - just ask Brent Seabrook and the Blackhawks. He routinely uses his 223-pound frame to run over opposing players, plus he's a former #5 overall pick (2000) who can score as well. He posted 47 goals over a two-season span in Edmonton and even helped the Oilers make it to the Stanley Cup in his time there. His big game experience doesn't end in Edmonton though (that might be the first-time anyone's written that sentence since the early 90's) as he was a part of Vancouver's run to the Finals this year, posting seven points along the way. Again, it's not like the Coyotes went out and signed Ovechkin. But they did get a powerful forward, which is an invaluable assett in today's Western Conference. And they got good value in doing so at $3.5 million over 2 years.

The Desert Dogs were also able to retain Radim Vrbata for another three years, a solid move because a) he plays his best hockey in Phoenix, b) they got him for a pretty good price, and c) this means at least another three years where I get to scream "Hakuna Vrbata" at unsuspecting media members in the broadcast booth every time he scores.

We're at a point where Maloney and Tippett have pretty much earned our trust even if we don't fully understand the moves they make. Their track records are pretty impeccable right now. But these moves don't even requie that sort of blind faith. If you look at them logically, they make a lot of sense for this team and the style of hockey they play. And the best part is, Maloney probably isn't done. Don't be shocked if he makes a run at acquiring more talent via trade over the next few months, rather than overspending on marginal talent in a down year for free agency.

Before I go, here's a quick note that I honestly never thought I would write: we're over 24 hours into free agency and the team with the highest payroll in the National Hockey League is... the Buffalo Sabres?? What kind of world do we live in where Buffalo is absolutely loaded? Even with the Rangers pawning off the Statue of Liberty just so they can throw every last penny they have at Brad Richards for the next decade, the Sabres are still the highest spending team. They might just make some noise this year. Assuming Brett Hull stays away from their goal crease of course.

-LUKE LAPINSKI, Radio Host for Phoenix Coyotes Hockey

Technically, the 2010-11 season is over. But I can’t handle that emotionally, so I’ve decided to focus on this week’s Awards Show in an effort to somehow extend the season in my mind. Which raises an interesting question: considering how well-rounded the league was this year, why does it seem like it’s only players from Vancouver, Tampa, Detroit, Nashville, and Zdeno Chara in the running for awards this time around? I was going to mix in some fake categories just to make sure you were paying attention but I figured I’d stick to the basics instead. Just know this: if Chompie’s Deli ever sponsors a trophy, it’s going to Alex Burrows every year that I write one of these.

I’ll be at the show in Vegas on Wednesday so I’ll post photos and player audio, thus enabling you to live in this state of denial with me. Until then, let’s make some predictions…

HART TROPHY
“Most Valuable Player.” (2010 winner: Henrik Sedin, C, VAN)

2011 Finalists:

[Corey Perry, RW, ANA] – NHL-leading 50 goals and the anchor to arguably the best scoring line in hockey.

[Daniel Sedin, LW, VAN] – Only player in the league to crack 100 points (104).

[Martin St. Louis, RW, TB] – He’s shorter than you and faster on skates than you. And he quietly puts up monster numbers every single season (99 this year). Plus, he has punctuation in his name. Top that.

WILL Win: Daniel Sedin. Think about the storyline – Henrik wins it last year, Daniel succeeds his twin for the honors in 2011. It falls right in line with the rest of their impressive legacy: drafted back-to-back by the same team, play on the same line, assist on each other’s goals, put up eerily similar numbers, look virtually identical, feel what the other one feels, chew Doublemint gum together, etc. Let’s face of it, these two are more powerful than any of us could ever imagine. They’re like an odd Swedish superhero who splits in two to dominate scoring races and wreak havoc all over the NHL… at least until the postseason. Plus, if a Canuck doesn’t win something soon, there’s a real good possibility Vancouver fans become angry and start lighting their own city on fire again.

SHOULD Win: Corey Perry. Look I’m not taking anything away from Daniel. The Canucks had the best record in hockey and he was a major reason why. But here’s the thing: this is supposed to be the Most Valuable Player. Without Daniel Sedin, the Canucks still have a great season. In fact, they still have a Sedin! We saw what Vancouver could do without Daniel just last season and it wasn’t bad at all. But Anaheim without Perry doesn’t even make the playoffs. With him, they’re the four seed in a loaded Western Conference. Think of Sedin as Matt Damon in Ocean’s Eleven. Think of Perry as Damon in The Bourne Identity. Which one’s more important to his movie? Now just for fun, think of Rick Nash in Columbus as Damon in Stuck on You.

VEZINA TROPHY
“Best Goalie.” (2010 winner: Ryan Miller, G, BUF)

2011 Finalists:

[Roberto Luongo, G, VAN] – 38-15-7, 2.11 GAA, .928 save %.

[Tim Thomas, G, BOS] – 35-11-9, 2.00 GAA, .938 save %. And NINE shutouts. In other words, he posted a shutout 16% of the time he played.

[Pekka Rinne, G, NAS] – 33-22-9, 2.12 GAA, .930 save %.

WILL Win: Um, Tim Thomas.

SHOULD Win: Thomas. Rinne had an impressive year but it took place in Nashville so his best chance at a trophy is dating a hot country music singer. Luongo, despite public perception at the moment, is a world class netminder but this wasn’t even his best year. In fact, this was a good season for goalies all around the league (excluding Edmonton of course) and a number of others – such as Henrik Lundqvist - could make a strong claim to being a finalist on this list as well. But Thomas was head and shoulders above all of them. There were games where he looked like the goalie in a video game when you turn the settings up to all-star and the computer goes into “no more goals by the human” mode. And that was before the playoffs even started.

Here’s something to ponder: what if the Coyotes had lost the first game of the season in Prague when Tuukka Rask – Boston’s starter at the time - was in net? Would Thomas have still gotten the nod in the second game? When – if ever – would he have ripped the starting job back? The whole NHL season could have potentially been altered. See? This blog isn’t all sarcastic remarks and run-on sentences… it’s a think piece. Just wait until I start talking existentialism when we get to the Norris Trophy…

JAMES NORRIS MEMORIAL TROPHY
“Best Defenseman.” (2010 winner: Duncan Keith, D, CHI)

2011 Finalists:

[Nicklas Lidstrom, D, DET] – His 11^th nomination and he’s already won six times. His 62 points were second among NHL defensemen, though he somehow finished the year with a +/- of -2 on Detroit.

[Zdeno Chara, D, BOS] – Finished the year +33 and has one of the hardest slapshots anyone has ever seen.

[Shea Webber, D, NAS] – Has a slapshot harder than anyone not named 'Chara'. And a beard that would make Lincoln jealous.

WILL Win: Lidstrom. They might even hold a ceremony right then and there to rename the trophy after him.

SHOULD Win: Not Lidstrom. Honestly, he’s one of the best defensemen I’ve ever seen, a surefire Hall of Famer, and an all-around class act. But if we’re just going to give it to him every single year, why not do it before the season even starts? These guys all enjoyed remarkable seasons and, in such a tight race, that -2 stands out to me for some reason. I get that +/- is heavily influenced by your teammates and isn’t always the most reliable stat, but the last time I checked, Detroit is a team full of good players and +/- pertains more to defensemen than anyone else. You know what, forget it - even I don't believe that. Give it to Lidstrom.

CALDER MEMORIAL TROPHY
“Rookie of the Year.” (2010 winner: Tyler Myers, D, BUF)

2011 Finalists:

[Logan Couture, C, SJ] – 56 points, second on the Sharks with 32 goals.

[Michael Grabner, RW, NYI] – His 34 goals led all rookies and he even made the Islanders interesting for awhile. Good move by Florida to waive him before the season even started.

[Jeff Skinner, C, CAR] – His 63 points led all rookies.

WILL Win: Skinner.

SHOULD Win: I want Couture to win this and I’m not even sure why. It just seemed like he spent the entire season constantly scoring big goals in big games and that should be rewarded. But Skinner’s story is remarkable – leading all first-year players in points while playing for a team without a lot of firepower… at age EIGHTEEN. And he looks like he’s seven. 

TED LINDSAY AWARD (used to be Lester B. Pearson)
“The most outstanding player in the NHL, voted by his peers” (2010 winner: Alex Ovechkin, LW, WAS)

2011 Finalists:

[Corey Perry, RW, ANA] – Tough to look past 50 goals twice.

[Daniel Sedin, LW, VAN] – He should have Henrik accept any awards he wins just to see if we notice.

[Steven Stamkos, C, TB] – Started out red-hot, trailed off a little near the end. Still, nobody in Tampa’s complaining about 45 goals from a 21-year old.

WILL Win: Whichever player named Perry or Sedin that didn’t win the Hart Trophy. I’m guessing that means it’ll be Perry.

SHOULD Win: Daniel Sedin. I’m operating under the assumption that Perry should’ve won the Hart and usually, when two guys are this close, they end up splitting these two awards. And Daniel does deserve to win something, even if for no other reason than the simple fact that he and Henrik gave us arguably the most disturbingly great commercial of all time.

JACK ADAMS AWARD
“Coach of the Year.” (2010 winner: Dave Tippett, Phoenix Coyotes).

2011 Finalists:

[Dan Bylsma, Pittsburgh Penguins] – 49-25-8; 4^th in the East, just one point out of first.

[Barry Trotz, Nashville Predators] – 44-27-11; 5^th in the loaded Western Conference.

[Alain Vigneault, Vancouver Canucks] – 54-19-9; best record in hockey.

WILL Win: Bylsma.

SHOULD Win: Bylsma. The Penguins lost the best player in the world for the year, lost another top ten player just for fun, and their record actually got better. Trotz once again got more out of his team than their talent level would suggest, and he should be commended for that… just not enough to win the Adams this year. Vigneault led the Canucks to the Presidents’ Trophy but they were also completely loaded with talent. Giving him the award would be like racing a Ferrari against a couple Toyotas, then saying the Ferrari driver was better because he managed to go slightly faster. If Bylsma doesn’t win this award, I might leave the building Wednesday night.

BRIDGESTONE MESSIER LEADERSHIP AWARD
"The player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice." (2010 winner: Sidney Crosby, C, PIT)

2011 Finalists:

[Shane Doan, RW, PHX] – Short of buying the franchise himself, I’m not sure what more Doan could do for hockey in Phoenix.

[Nicklas Lidstrom, D, DET] – The unquestioned leader on a team full of leaders.

[Zdeno Chara, D, BOS] – By the end of the playoffs, he looked like an actual lumberjack.

WILL Win: A tough call but we’re getting pretty deep into this list without very many Red Wings winning awards so far…

SHOULD Win: I’m biased because I see firsthand the sort of things Shane Doan does on the ice, in the locker room, and in the community. And he’s consistently done it his whole career. Throw in the ownership distractions over the last year, and Doan’s leadership is that much more impressive – you can even see his positive, team-first attitude rubbing off on the younger players. But that’s not to diminish what guys like Chara and Lidstrom have done. Though, to be fair, if Lidstrom doesn’t win this year, he’s still got about 60 more chances since he’s clearly going to play hockey at a high level until he’s 100.

FRANK J. SELKE TROPHY
“The forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.” (2010 winner: Pavel Datsyuk, C, DET)

2011 Finalists:

[Pavel Datsyuk, C, DET] – Don’t talk to Phoenix Coyotes fans about Datsyuk. Just don’t, ok?

[Ryan Kesler, C, VAN] – You know what they say: if you can’t win the Stanley Cup, might as well take home the Selke. Wait, no one in their right mind has ever said that…

[Jonathan Toews, C, CHI] – I’m still baffled by the people who think Patrick Kane is the best Blackhawk.

WILL Win: Kesler. The guy’s been a beast defensively and still managed to put up 41 goals. Already good entering this season, he’s clearly taken his game to a whole new level. Plus, he might just be the best American forward in the game right now and this is the one award he has a chance to take home after his breakout campaign.

SHOULD Win: Kesler. But Datsyuk’s so slippery, he might just sneak up onstage and steal the award before anyone notices anyway.

LADY BYNG
“The player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.” Whatever ‘adjudged’ means. (2010 winner: Martin St. Louis, RW, TB) 

2011 Finalists:

[Loui Eriksson, LW, DAL] – Eight penalty minutes all year. Eight. Sean Avery had that by the opening faceoff.

[Nicklas Lidstrom, D, DET] – His sixth nomination, yet he’s never won. He’s like the Leonardo DiCaprio of the Lady Byng.

[Martin St. Louis, RW, TB] – 99 points, yet this is his only legitimate shot at an award this year.

WILL Win: I’m not predicting who will win the Lady Byng. Sorry. That’s where I draw the line. If I had to guess, I’d say they find a way to give it to Datsyuk even though he isn’t in contention. One thing I can say with certainty – Zenon Konopka and his 307 penalty minutes aren’t taking this one home.

SHOULD Win: This feels like one of those awards where we’re all winners, doesn’t it?

-LUKE LAPINSKI, Radio Host for Phoenix Coyotes Hockey
(twitter: @LukeLapinski)

It’s officially time to close the book on the Ilya Bryzgalov Era in Phoenix. Whenever I have to do something like this, I take a moment to make sure I’m thinking straight before I put my thoughts out there. I don’t want to let emotion get the better of me, causing me to irrationally lash out at random people. So I’ve waited two days and here’s the conclusion I’ve come to: this is all Rick DiPietro’s fault.

See here’s the thing, the Coyotes went into this summer hoping to get a deal done. Under no circumstances did Don Maloney head into the offseason thinking “ok, first order of business: get rid of the guy who nearly took home the Vezina a year ago and has the ability to take over a game from the crease. He’s gotta go.” But, by all accounts, Bryz simply left them no choice. He wanted an extremely long term deal and he wanted to be paid like one of the top players in the game, not just an elite goalie. A deal like that only makes sense for a few teams in today’s NHL. The Coyotes – a group built around a well-rounded team concept – aren’t one of them. And for once, that has nothing to do with who the owner is. Do you really want to pump that much of your team’s payroll into one player? Granted, maybe if the ownership situation had never been an issue, they could’ve gotten a deal done before it ever came to this. We’ll never know. But once this offseason hit, it became a harsh reality that there was simply no way to re-sign the Russian Bear. And this is where DiPietro comes in. When he inked his 75 year, $200 trillion deal with the Islanders back in 2006, he changed the landscape of the negotiating process. Goalies believe they can get extremely long term deals now because the precedent has been set. It’s like going to a car dealership where the guy before you just offered the dealer $80,000 for a Honda Civic. I’ve got news for you: if you happen to want to buy a Civic, the price just went up considerably. And you can’t really blame Bryzgalov for this. If you were him and had the opportunity to cash in for a long time, wouldn’t you take it?

Which brings me to a quick side point. If you took a second in the last couple weeks to break down all the possible destinations for Bryz outside of Phoenix in the NHL, Philadelphia was the clear frontrunner - a team with plenty of talented scorers that doesn’t already have a lot of money and time locked up in a netminder and might actually be willing to unload a boatload of cash on the guy in goal because they feel it’s the only piece they’re missing. Of course, we don’t know for sure that he’ll end up in with the Flyers because there’s not a more daunting task on the face of this planet than trying to figure out what Bryz is thinking and I’m sure there are KHL teams making some huge offers as well. But I’m guessing Philadelphia wouldn’t have dealt for his rights if they didn’t think they at least had a chance to sign him and – if that’s where he stays - the NHL Network needs to jump all over the opportunity to film a reality show about Bryzgalov living in the City of Brotherly Love. They could call it “Ilyadelphia”. That’s potential comedy gold, somebody needs to get on this, and I want royalties.

So where does this leave the Coyotes? It’s not as bad as you might think. Sure they lost a big time player on Tuesday, but they did the right thing. And I think we’re all at the point where we trust whatever Don Maloney does. His track record more than speaks for itself, and if anything goes wrong, he’ll somehow fix everything at the expense of the New York Rangers anyway, so it all works out in the end. You and I both know he made every effort to make this deal work. He considered Bryz a top ten goalie (usually worth $4.5-$6 million a year) and offered him a contract accordingly. Bryz was looking for much, much more. So much more, in fact, that they apparently never even got close to a compromise. Again, I don’t blame Bryz for wanting to test the market – that’s business. Just remember, it’s not like the Coyotes decided to up and trade him – they simply had no option. He wasn’t coming back. Better to get something instead of absolutely nothing, right? (By the way, could someone pass that last sentence on to whoever is negotiating the NFL labor dispute? Two sides fighting over $9 billion, willing to give up everything if they can’t have everything to themselves, rather than cut their losses. If Don Maloney was involved in the NFL negotiations, we’d have a football season right now. Yes, I know it's the middle of June - he'd still make it happen somehow.)

Bottom line, this team can be successful without Bryzgalov - but they have to be smart. They already re-signed Jason LaBarbera, though Maloney has said he doesn’t necessarily want to lean on him as the #1 goalie. They have impressive prospects like Mark Visentin (last year’s OHL player of the year) in the system, but I sincerely doubt they want to press any of them into live NHL action right now. That leaves free agency or a trade. The free agent netminder with the clear cut best track record out there is Thomas Vokoun, who is bound to be the happiest man in America because, well, no matter where he goes, he won’t be in net for the Florida Panthers anymore. Beyond Vokoun, there are a number of up-and-comers available around the league and with Dave Tippett’s strong defensive minded system in place and Sean Burke’s ability to take a netminder to the next level, Phoenix is suddenly a very appealing destination for a goalie. On top of that, the Desert Dogs have some money to spend now. If they do this right, they could even land another consistent goal scorer or two. It might not be the ideal situation, but this franchise has gotten good at rolling with the punches and succeeding anyway. In fact, the real loser here is the world of social media. Now that he’s not sharing a locker room with Paul Bissonnette, who’s going to step up and finally talk Bryz into getting a twitter account?

When all is said and done, Bryzgalov helped keep this team in Glendale and it’s sad to see him go. He’s a quirky guy whose zany antics livened up practice and the locker room. Of course, those sorts of characteristics can rub people the wrong way sometimes too, but it helps when you’re making big saves on game nights. And I don’t buy into the belief that he can’t ever be a big game goalie. I know he struggled in the playoffs the last two years; there’s no denying that. He also had stretches during the regular season where he looked unbeatable. And because all of his playoff games in Phoenix were spent with Tomas Holmstrom running him over while Pavel Datsyuk wizzed shots past his head, it’s tough to get an accurate reading on his ability to step up in big games. If you write off every goalie that has a hard time with the Red Wings, well, there just won’t be many left. That’s said, there were times when the pressure did seem to get to him. If that’s truly the case, the microscope in Philadelphia – where fans have been known to yell obscenities at Santa Claus, throw batteries, and even purposely throw up on each other - might not exactly be what he’s looking for.

One final note: within minutes of the trade breaking on Tuesday, it had become a trending topic on twitter. I understand that twitter doesn’t necessarily rule the world (yet), but this would seem to indicate to me that all of us in Arizona who supposedly don’t know what hockey is somehow still manage to find time to care about what the Coyotes are doing. And that's a good thing because this offseason could get real interesting.

-LUKE LAPINSKI, XTRA Sports 910         

The regular season has ended and an undefeated team with one loss in their last 27 games isn’t even getting a chance at the title. Meanwhile an 8-4 team is somehow in a BCS Bowl. The system works! Wait, how does that happen? Isn’t this 2010?

Ah yes, because we’re talking about college football - where potentially the most intriguing sport in America is ruined annually by an out-of-date system that no one other than a select few people who directly benefit from it at the expense of EVERYONE else actually wants in place. Oh sure, there is the occasional (and I use that term extremely loosely) BCS supporter walking among us. Problem is, none of them can ever give an actual reason as to why the BCS is even remotely better than a playoff would be. At best they just throw their arms up, give a lame answer about how it’s the current system in place so why change it, mumble something about “tradition”, and then wander away - presumably to do whatever they’re told as they hop into their horse drawn carriage because it’s more traditional than those whacky motor cars with combustible engines.

Look, the bottom line is this: an eight team playoff system would make a good product great. It’s so painfully simple that it’s… painful. That doesn’t mean you get rid of the entire bowl system - just the opposite, in fact. You keep all the current bowls while making a select few even more prestigious. Along the way, you embrace one of the best parts of organized sports - crowning an actual champion - so we don’t have to spend the end of every season standing around staring at each other with looks of confusion and anger on our faces. You know, kind of like the look David Stern has any time anyone mentions the name “Gilbert Arenas” around him.

I know this has been talked about at length and the outcry for a playoff has been made a million times over. But really, doesn’t that just prove my point? Most coaches want the current system changed. Heck, even politicians know it’s bad and these aren’t exactly people who are usually known for being able to decipher the difference between right and wrong. If they get it, your dog probably gets it. It is without a doubt the single most frustrating issue in sports today - the football equivalent to trying to teach biochemistry to the cast of Jersey Shore - so I’m going to take some new angles on it as I go through the opposing point of view once and for all.

The following - believe it or not - are the top arguments for the current BCS system. If you have a better one, please email me so I can sleep at night. Seriously, if I could hear just one legitimate line of reasoning in its favor, maybe I wouldn’t spend the first week in January every year debating whether I should watch meaningless BCS bowls or just slam my fingers in my car door. They’re equally productive endeavors.

Argument #1: The current system makes a profit, so going to a playoff would mean the NCAA would (somehow) lose money.

Way to look at the big picture. Look I’ll try to be diplomatic throughout the rest of this, but the money argument is completely moronic and shortsighted. You can’t honestly tell me a playoff wouldn’t make more people pay attention. The Orange Bowl this year features Stanford and Virginia Tech. Are there actually people out there who seriously think this game wouldn’t have more viewers if a spot in the final four was on the line? All of a sudden, a game that mattered to people in Palo Alto and Blacksburg suddenly matters to football fans across the country. What a horrible turn of events. And the people that are watching the bowls right now aren’t going to suddenly leave you because you made the system better. I’ve got news for you: anyone watching the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl is a lifer. That would be like someone getting upset because you took their 22 inch black and white TV from 1975 and replaced it with a 60 inch high definition flat screen. Unless you’re in Amish country, that’s not happening. So how does having MORE viewers make you less money? And why is it that NO ONE can answer that question?? Someone mindlessly says the current system makes money now so why would they change anything and we’re all supposed to just accept that? How’d that logic work for Bernie Madoff?

#2: As it is, every regular season game matters. A playoff system would ruin that.

Yeah, tell that to TCU this year. Or Boise St last year. Or Utah the year before. As it turned out, not a single one of their games mattered because they went undefeated and didn’t get a chance at proving they were the best. And it’s not just the undefeated teams. What about teams like USC in 2003 that lose one game yet don’t get in because two other one-loss teams were magically determined to be better? Or how about 2007 when LSU got voted right in to the title game with two losses? Really? We still use voting to determine a champion? Is it so wrong to see football games played out on a football field?

Every game absolutely does not matter now. They just say they do. And if you believe them, you're also probably racing up to Detroit to buy real estate as I write this. Every game matters for about 10-15 teams based on where they are ranked in the preseason. Can you imagine if every game actually did matter? What a novel concept! Why, it would be like some sort of magical system where teams competed all year and the best ones who survived were then given a chance to square off with each other to determine a real champion! That almost sounds like… football!

#3: College football isn’t about winning championships. This is all about education and a playoff might somehow get in the way of schoolwork.

Um, ok. Moving on…

#4: We like the system the way it is because it keeps people talking about college football.

This is quite possibly the most idiotic and mind numbing argument in the history of “organized” sports. Yes, people are talking about the BCS. People talk about rising gas prices and a struggling economy too, it doesn’t mean we like it. While I’ll give you that complaining is technically talking, that doesn’t make it a good thing. I’m pretty sure this conversation never takes place:

Fan A: My team played anyone that would play us and won every game in convincing fashion. How is your one-loss team (or hey, in some years - two-loss team) going to the title game and we’re not? What more do we have to do?

Fan B: Hook ‘em horns!

Fan A: Good point. And even if my team is screwed by the time they hit the field for practice every year, I’m okay with it because this is fun to talk about.

And here’s the ultimate shocker - brace yourself for this - it’s my suspicion that people would STILL talk about college football if there was a playoff system! Oh boy! There I said it!

The NFL playoffs are right around the corner and – believe it or not - I’ve actually heard people having conversations about them. The same thing mysteriously happens with March Madness every spring. And isn’t March Madness governed by the NCAA? Those Cinderella teams that make improbable runs and capture the nation’s attention sure are killing college basketball aren‘t they? Here‘s the thing, when people talking about these sports mention that a team is “probably” the best or “should” win it all, they’re saying it before or during the season - not afterwards when, as paying fans, we should already have answers to these debates instead of vague theories or unresolved potentially classic matchups that cheapen the history of the sport. This isn’t philosophy class. I want answers.

#5: Tradition (I’m aware this isn’t a complete sentence. It’s not a complete argument either but somehow it keeps resurfacing.)

Here’s my thought on tradition - you can evolve as a sport and still have it. As far as I can tell, when the NBA added the three point line, they didn’t supplement it by starting a bonfire and burning every record of anything that happened in the league before that point. If something is grossly outdated and there’s a very simple solution, fix it. If I’m the only person on my street that still has to wash his dishes by hand because everyone else has gotten with the times and has a dishwasher, is that really a tradition? And yeah, going back to argument #4, I’m probably going to talk about the fact that I’m forced to still live in the Stone Age. But that “talking” you hear is just the sound of unhappiness. Is that what you really want your sport built around?

#6: If you let eight teams in the playoffs, you’ll just have to deal with the ninth team complaining.

Its one thing to be a one- or two-loss team that can’t quite squeak into the eighth seed, but it’s much worse to be undefeated and get screwed out of any chance of playing for the championship simply because a competing team has more powerful supporters in the right places.

It’s true that no system is going to be completely perfect. After all, there are 120 Division I teams. But not fixing something at all because you can’t fix it 100% is like saying “yeah I could use a fork when I eat spaghetti, but one out of every 10,000 times I might bite my lip or something, so instead I’m just going to keep ramming the fork directly into my forehead because really, what’s the point of correcting my error if I’m not guaranteed perfection every time?”

#7: A playoff system would make the schedule too long.

I don’t know where you people have to be, but if one extra week makes that much of a difference, knock out one of the useless games against a Division II school that you’re playing. Did Auburn really need to destroy Chatanooga back in November? Is there some sort of unresolved issue between these schools I don’t know about? There’s no conceivable reason Florida needed to abuse FIU by 59 last year either. Did Gator fans feel better about themselves after that? Tim Tebow’s a humanitarian - he probably felt so guilty about it that he donated all his future NFL earnings to buy leather bound books and microfiber couches for underprivileged families in Bolivia. I don’t want a system where the key to success is beating kids from small schools senseless. Be a man, play the real teams - in my system you actually don’t get punished for it. At the MOST, you’re talking about TWO extra games for TWO schools where football is clearly a big deal. Just cut out the worthless games against tiny schools. Or play the extra game - don’t more games equal more money anyway? Oh wait, I forgot - college football isn’t about money, it’s about the students’ education [Wink and nod suggestively].

#8: You’re just doing this for the little guys out there.

Not really. Though would it be the worst thing in the world if teams like TCU actually got their chance every once in awhile? The team has lost one game in over two years and still hasn’t gotten a shot at a title. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Rose Bowl and the people who put it together each year do a great job. But one loss in two years should get you a shot at winning the whole thing. Right now, the BCS treats the TCUs of the world like a guy treats a girl that he‘s “kind of” dating. He’ll hang out with her, go to the movies, and have dinner with her, but when his friends come around and want to go out, he wants nothing to do with her. They’ll let BCS schools strengthen their schedule by playing teams like Boise St. And they’ll even point to the remarkable turnaround that Coach Peterson has pulled off as an inspiring symbol of what college sports are all about. But when push comes to shove, they won’t give them a chance to truly prove themselves (even though the Broncos gave us arguably the most exciting college football game ever when they beat Oklahoma back in 2007). In fact, they went undefeated last season and didn’t even finish #2 – a perfect record got them fourth! What a reward. I know I’ve always hoped that on my wedding day my future wife would look at me and think “awesome. He was my #4 choice. Dreams do come true.” Do we really think these smaller schools couldn’t win against the big boys? Didn’t Utah destroy Alabama in the 2009 Sugar Bowl to the point where Nick Saban stormed up and down the sidelines looking for some group of people to alienate or lie to just to make himself feel better? Or is the very problem actually coming from the fact that those schools might win?

And what do these coaches tell potential players coming out of high school - “come to Idaho, play your heart out, be part of something amazing, win every game, and you’ll still never get a chance to win it all”? I bet that’s an interesting recruiting trip. The way it is now, stories like the TCU one are nice but they’ll simply never be great. It’s not allowed. What kind of “sport” wants to stifle progress? (and before you try to counter all this by saying ratings for the Fiesta Bowl were down last year because no one wants to see teams like TCU and Boise, you’re proving my exact point: outside of those two schools, the game really meant nothing as is. But what if it had been for a shot to play Florida in the next round? All of a sudden it’s a little more interesting. Moral victories are nice and fuzzy but they don’t translate so well to TV.)

This really isn’t meant to be a manifesto for the benefit of the smaller programs though. Putting Boise St. in the BCS title game last year would’ve been no better because Texas, TCU, and Cincinnati would have all been getting screwed over. I particularly feel for Texas because they just got slighted out of the championship game the year before. And this certainly isn’t some hidden agenda for my alma mater - I went to Arizona State. A 64 team playoff wouldn’t help them right now. Nor am I even saying that Auburn and Oregon aren’t the best teams this year – in fact, this is one of the few times the title game seems to be right. It’s hard to argue with their credentials. But that’s just it - I don’t want to argue about it. They may very well have rolled over everyone they played and the SEC might really be the best conference (though I don’t ever want to hear the stat again that points out how many times in a row an SEC team has made the title game. They essentially have an automatic bid every year so what’s your point? That’s not a stat, it’s an indication of how flawed the system is. If they earned their way there every year by beating teams outside the SEC, it would have a lot more credence). All I’m saying is I’d rather see it decided on the field rather than simply by which team has louder supporters.

The ultimate point is this: could any true fan of the game honestly tell me you wouldn’t have loved to see the following bracket this year? (Really, doesn’t the very word “bracket” conjure up more excitement than you even know what to do with? I probably could’ve made this whole piece one word and you would’ve been sold.)

Gm 1 (Fiesta Bowl): (1) Oregon - (8) Arkansas

Gm 2 (Rose Bowl): (4) Stanford - (5) Wisconsin

Gm 3 (Capitol One Bowl): (3) TCU - (6) Ohio St

Gm 4 (Cotton Bowl): (2) Auburn - (7) Oklahoma

Gm 5 (Orange Bowl): winner gm 1 v winner gm 2

Gm 6 (Sugar Bowl): winner gm 3 v winner gm 4

Title Game (location rotates each year as it does now): winner gm 5 v winner gm 6

Nearly every major BCS conference is represented, the title game could still be played in one of the four venues it’s currently played at, you’d keep the same four bowls (Sugar, Orange, Rose, and Fiesta) in play and use them for first and second round games while adding two more major bowls to the mix (maybe the Cotton and the Capital One? I don‘t really care. You could rotate two different ones in every year actually, though that would make everyone more money and we already established we don’t want that for some reason). All of a sudden, those two new bowls take on a lot more meaning than they did before, those venues get a boost and the teams outside the playoffs that currently play in those bowls can just play in a different bowl that will still mean something to the people involved (as it does now) and still be watched by millions (as it is now). We all know that the Sun Bowl isn’t for a national championship and people will still tune in. No one’s going to be thinking “hey, if Miami wins today, maybe they’ll suddenly get enough votes to leapfrog 47 other teams and win the whole thing". The bowls are nice for the smaller programs or the schools that didn’t have their best season but still deserved a reward at the end of the year. But there should be something a step above for the top teams to play for as well as something for the up and coming programs to strive for and build towards. Again I ask: how is any of this bad?

Without fail, every study that comes out where fans are polled on this topic is overwhelmingly in favor of a playoff. Then again, why listen to the fans? It’s not like they’re the ones going to your games and supporting your business by buying your merchandise. And really, what do fans know about what fans want, right? Silly supportive fans…

This brings me back to my original point that the most frustrating aspect to all of this just might be the fact that the solution really is so simple. In fact, the NCAA does it in all their other major sports! College football in its purest form is such a great game, but the current system stifles it. It’s the equivalent to someone offering me an iPod but telling me I can only listen to Justin Bieber on it. Am I still going to take the iPod? I guess. But really, why are you trying to devalue it? Am I still going to watch college football? Probably, yeah. But what if the powers that be decided to use some of that energy currently being wasted on defending the out of date system and invested it in actually thinking through the benefits of a playoff? Why is that so unspeakable? Is it just arrogance? Are we just trying to keep the little schools down? Or is it a major conflict of interest where the same people just keep voting their same teams in and forcing it on us year after year?

So again, I offer this as a plea for anyone who would still favor the current system to give me a reason why. And not one that‘s so far-fetched that it will make me want to jam a pen into my own thigh. If I still haven’t convinced you that we need to fix this, go ahead and take the fantasy football league that you’re in and just do away with the playoffs. Instead, just have everyone vote for who should win at the end. Let me know how that works out for you.

If nothing else, the people in charge could at least be honest with us and acknowledge that the system is in place because it financially benefits certain people in positions of power who lack the foresight to realize that a playoff system would actually probably benefit them even more down the line. If you’re going to screw the fans over, at least be forthright about it. Don’t stand in front of me, kick my dog in the ribs, then tell me you’re doing it because it makes him feel important. At least have the decency to not lie directly to my face as you take my money.